High voltage tube socket



Sept. 12,1967

Filed May 27, 1965 Z5 2d I 2 im w WM 4&MM,%W.;%W ,%7MATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,341,805 HIGH VOLTAGE TUBE SOCKET Albert P. De Vito,Niles, lll., assignor to Alcon Metal Products, Inc., Chicago, 111., acorporation of Delaware Filed May 27, 1965, Ser. No. 459,293 8 Claims.(Cl. 339-111) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An electrical tube socket has abody provided with a plurality of tube pin receiving holes openingthrough one face and within which are pin terminals connected toelectrical leads received in recesses in the opposite face, one of theleads being for high voltage and its recess having thereabout ahorseshoe-shaped barrier wall with its ends projecting as interlockshoulder extensions beyond an edge of the body. A cover plate is securedin closing relation to the recesses and has a slot therethroughcomplementary to and clearing the barrier wall, with parts of the coverplate adjacent the ends of the slot interlockingly engaged under theextension.

This invention relates to improvements in tube sockets and moreparticularly sockets especially adapted to include a high voltageterminal such as are useful in connecting the picture tubes inminiaturized TV sets.

- A major problem encountered in tube sockets involving high voltageleads and receptacles resides in the liability to crossover or arcing,sometimes loosely referred to as sparking, of the high potential toadjacent leads or receptacles or other conductive objects or surfaces.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the present 7 invention toprovide new and improved means for guarding against arcing from anelectrical socket structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel arrangement in aTV picture tube socket for guarding against high potential crossover orarcing.

A further object of the invention is to provide new and improvedinterlock means for the electrical lead cover of a picture tube socketfor miniaturized TV sets.

Still another object of the invention is to provide improved means forpreventing arcing from high potential leads, terminals, receptacles andthe like in electrical circuitry.

Other objects. features and advantages of the present invention will bereadily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a socket body embodying features of theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the socket body, showing certain ofthe electrical leads and attached terminals in position;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the back plate or cover for the socketassembly;

FIGURE 4 is a back plan view of the completed socket assembly;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional detail view taken substantially on the line VVof FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevational view of the highvoltage lead and its attached terminal and pin receptacle.

In the illustrated representative practical embodiment of the invention,a socket body 10 made of a suitable dielectric material molded to formis of a disk-like form and of generally circular outline having a frontface smaller diameter tube mount platform boss 11 with an annular seriesof tube terminal pin receiving socket holes 12 therethrough about acentral keyhole 13. Numerical Patented Sept. 12, 1967 indicia 14 on thefront face of the lateral flange portion of the body 10 about the tubemounting base boss 11 identify the respective pin holes 12. One such pinhole 12a is designated for reception of the high voltage tube terminalpin and that portion of the boss 11 having such pin hole is isolatedfrom the adjacent and remaining portion of the boss by radial slots 15providing air gaps.

On its back-face, the socket body 10 is provided with electricalterminal-receiving and interlock means comprising respective terminalrecesses which are radially elongated and extend from the pin-receivingholes 12 radially outwardly to the base of a generally annular axiallyextending rim flange 18 on the margin of the body through which smallerwidth lead clearance grooves 19 are aligned with the respective terminalrecesses. These recesses 17 and the aligned grooves 19 are provided forall of the pin holes except the pin hole 12a receptive of the highvoltage tube pin which has aligned therewith radial terminal recess 17aand an aligned lead-clearance groove 19a formed in a radial lip flangeextension 20 of the body 10. This affords support for a high voltagebarrier wall 21 of generally horseshoe shape extending in substantiallyraised relation from the ear 20 about the high voltage pin hole 12a andthe aligned recess 17a and groove 19a.

Receptive in the recesses 17 are terminals 22 which are formedintegrally with tubular pin receptacles 23 received within therespective pin socket holes 12. Attached to the terminals 22 arerespective electrical lead wires 24 extending through the grooves 19.Within the high voltage pin socket hole 12a is received a tubular pinreceptacle 25 integral with a terminal 27 attached to a high voltagelead wire 28. It will be observed that in respect to the terminals 22,the inner opposing surface of the axial flange 18 serves as a retaineragainst radially outward displacement of the terminal. Similarly, thehigh voltage terminal 27 is retained against radially outwarddisplacement by a shoulder 29 at juncture of the inner end of the groove19a with the recess 17a.

Means for locking the terminals and attached leads in their socketrecesses against axial displacement and in eflicient electricalisolation from one another comprise a backplate cover 30 which is adielectric panel of suitable thickness having its outer perimetercomplementary to the inner perimeter defined by the flange 18 and with alip flange extension 31 which is complementary in width to the lipflange 20 of the socket body. In assembly, the cover panel 30 lies flatagainst the back-face of the body 10 and the ear 31 flat against thebody ear 20 and with a keyhole aperture 32 registering with the bodykeyhole aperture 13 while a generally horseshoe shaped aperture 33complementary to the barrier 21 clears the barrier therethrough.

Means are provided for securing the cover plate 30 in close face-to-faceengagement with the opposing face of the body 10 and the ear 20.Attaching screws must be located as far as practicable away from thehigh voltage lead 28. Therefore, in the area adjacent to the barrier 21a problem has heretofore existed in maintaining the cover plate close tothe surface of the ear 20 and thus in electrically isolating coveringrelation to the high voltage terminal. According to the presentinvention, this problem is advantageously overcome by affording aholddown interlock relationship between the barrier 21 and the cover ear31, comprising extending the leg portions of the barrier 21 as interlockextensions 34 which project beyond the outer end of the body ear 20 andafford respective forwardly facing interlock shoulders 35 spaced fromthe plane of the back-face surface of the ear 20 about the same distanceas the thickness of the cover plate 30 and more particularly the earportion 31 thereof. Engaging under the hold-down shoulders 35 is aterminal 3 bar structure 37 on the lip 31 extending across the outerends of the clearance aperture 33.

In assembling the closure plate 30 with the socket body, the interlockshoulder extensions 34 are received through the leg portions of theclearance slot 33 while the cover plate is tilted up relative to thebody ear 20, substantially as shown in dot-dash outline in FIGURE 5.Thereby, the interlock terminal bar 37 is brought into assembledrelation to the shoulders 35. Then the cover plate 30 is swung relativeto the body into the fiat faceto-face interengagement. To facilitateswinging movement of a tongue portion 38 of the lip flange 31, definingthe bight of the clearance slot 33, into the bight of the bifurcationdefined by the barrier Wall 21, the leg portions of the barrier Wall andof the clearance slot are desirably substantially parallel. Further, theouter side of the barrier wall is provided with a taper 39 from top toabout the plane of the interlock shoulders 35 sufficient to clear theedges defining the outer side of the clearance slot 33 past the barrierwall during the relative swinging assembly maneuver. As a result, afairly close fitting relationship of the cover tongue 31 with the baseportions of the barrier wall 21 is attained and since the cover platelip 31 is positively held through interengagement of the shoulders 35and the interlock bar 37 against tilting-up due to warpage or any otherreason from the surface of the body lip 20, a thorough electricalisolation of the high voltage terminal 27 is maintained.

Attachment of the closure panel 30 against displacement from within theflange 18 of the socket body is effected by means of eyelet rivets 40 orthe like extending through complementary attachment cars 41 on the bodyand 42 on the closure panel. Through this arrangement, no metallicfasteners are Within crossover or arcing range of the high voltageterminal 27. By the efiicient, balanced, spaced four point hold-down ofthe cover panel 30 avoidance is attained of any gap between the body 10and the cover 30 through which crossover or arcing may occur.

Additional, or even principal protection against crossover or arcingfrom the high voltage terminal 27 may be afforded by a highly dielectriccoating 43 applied and bonded to the terminal 27, the receptacle 25 andthe terminal end portion of the high voltage lead 28 from which thenormal insulation 44 of the wire has been stripped. The dielectriccoating 43 covers all of the terminal 27 inclusive of the ferruleportion thereof which embraces the insulation 44 adjacent to thestripped terminal area and the embraced insulation 44. This dielectricinsulating coating 43 comprises any suitable plastic material which hasa high enough melting point and dielectric strength. For example, in theTV tube socket herein, the coating 43 is desirably possessed of amaterial which has a melting point of from 277 to 282 F. and free fromcold flow at 265 F. A material suitable for this purpose is obtainablecommercially under the name Dag from Biwax Corporation, Skokie,Illinois.

After the terminal 27 has been applied to the lead wire 28, the terminaland lead wire assembly is coated as by dipping into the coating materialin liquid state, and which for this purpose may have a dippingtemperature of 290 to 330 F. The entire terminal, inclusive of thereceptacle 25, is thus uniformly dielectrically covered. Any of thedielectric coating that may lodge on the inside of the receptacle 25 isdislodged, especially in the gripping throat area thereof by theterminal pin of the tube when thrust thereinto, so that metal-to-metalcontact of the pin in the receptacle is attained.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a tube socket assembly of the character described including adielectric body having electrical terminalreceiving recesses in one faceand a dielectric cover plate for said face:

said body having an electrically isolating area lip por tion in whichone of said recesses is receptive of a high voltage terminal andincluding a generally horseshoe-shaped barrier wall isolating the highvoltage terminal recess from the remaining terminal recesses;

a lip on said cover plate having a horseshoe-shaped slot complementaryto said barrier wall; and extensions on said barrier wall projectingbeyond the body edge and receiving thereunder parts of said cover platelip adjacent the end of said slot and locking the lips againstseparation and substantially eliminating any gap therebetween.

2. A socket construction especially suitable for effecting electricalconnection of a miniaturized TV tube and including a body having a tubemount portion providing a plurality of tube terminal pin holes openingfrom one face of the body and receptive of electrical terminalreceptacles from the other face of the body and which other face hasterminal-receiving recesses therein aligned with said pin holes with oneof said pin holes and its aligned recess isolated from the others by abarrier wall of generally horseshoe shape:

interlock extensions on said barrier wall projecting beyond an edge ofsaid body; and

a cover member engaged over said recesses and having a complementaryslot therein receptive of said barrier wall with interlock structure atthe ends of said slot engaging said interlock extensions.

3. A socket structure as defined in claim 2 in which said barrier wallhas substantially parallel legs from which said extensions project, andthe slot in said cover defines a tongue engaging Within the bight ofsaid barrier wall, said barrier wall having its outer side tapered fromits crown toward its base to afford clearance for assembly of said coverwith the body by engaging said interlock projections through said slotand then swinging the cover member into engagement with the body.

4. A socket as defined in claim 2 in which means are provided at twopoints spaced from each other and from said interlock extensions forsecuring the cover onto the body.

5. An electrical socket assembly comprising:

a body having a plurality of tube terminal pin receiving holes openingfrom one face of the body and respective terminal recesses in theopposite face of the body aligned with said holes;

respective pin terminals in said holes and having integral electricalterminals in said recesses attached to electrical leads extending fromthe socket;

an isolating barrier wall on and projecting from said opposite faceabout one of said holes and its recess to accommodate a high voltagelead;

a cover plate over said opposite face of said body closing all of saidrecesses and locking said terminals and the leads in place; and

means securing said plate to the body including interlock shoulder meanson said barrier wall spaced from the plane of said opposite faceapproximately the thickness of said plate and engaging against aconfronting portion of the plate and holding the plate in closeengagement with said opposite face to avoid crossover or arcing gapbetween the plate and said opposite face about said high voltageterminal.

6. An assembly as defined in claim 5, in which said plate has an openingtherein substantially complementary to and receptive of said walltherethrough, said shoulder means comprising a projection of said wallbeyond an edge of said body, said plate having a portion thereofengageable under said shoulder projection and being adapted to beassembled therewith by initially canting the plate relative to saidopposite face with said wall partially engaged through said opening andwith said plate portion under said projection, whereafter the plate ismoved into a face-to-face engagement with said opposite face with saidportion interlockingly engaged under said projection, and means spacedfrom said wall securing said plate against displacement from saidopposite face.

7. In an electrical socket:

a body having a plurality of tube terminal pin receiving holes openingfrom one face of the body and respective terminal recesses in theopposite face of the body aligned with said holes;

respective pin terminals in said holes and having integral electricalterminals in said recesses attached to electrical leads extending fromthe socket; and

an isolating barrier wall on and projecting from said opposite faceabout one of said holes and its recess to accommodate a high voltagelead and having interlock shoulder means thereon spaced from the planeof said opposite face approximately the thickness of to cover plateapertured to receive said barrier wall,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,383,973 9/1945 Jones 339111 X2,443,513 6/ 1948 Quackenbush 339-218 X 2,923,912 2/1960 Benander339-210 X 3,227,910 1/1966 Pittman 339-193 X 3,251,016 5/1966 Manetti etal 339-111 X 3,278,886 10/1966 Blurnenberg et al. 339-111 X MARVIN A.CHAMPION, Primary Examiner. RICHARD E. MOORE, Examiner.

7. IN AN ELECTRICAL SOCKET: A B ODY HAVING A PLURALITY OF TUBE TERMINALPIN RECEIVING HOLES OPENING FROM ONE FACE OF THE BODY AND RESPECTIVETERMINAL RECESSES IN THE OPPOSITE FACE OF THE BODY ALIGNED WITH SAIDHOLES; RESPECTIVE PIN TERMINALS IN SAID HOLES AND HAVING INTEGRALELECTRICAL TERMINALS IN SAID RECESSES ATTACHED TO ELECTRICAL LEADSEXTENDING FROM THE SOCKET; AND